Maca coffee is ordinary coffee with powdered maca root stirred into it. An earlier version of this page told readers that maca can lead to “a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and certain types of cancer,” that it reduces symptoms of depression, that it improves fertility, and that it lowers blood pressure. None of those claims was sourced, and none of them is established. The NIH’s own LiverTox database, reviewing what maca has been promoted for, says it plainly: “None of these effects have been proven in prospective, rigorously controlled trials in humans” (LiverTox, NIDDK/NIH). The claims have been removed from this page.
Medical disclaimer: this page is general information about a food and a supplement ingredient. It is not medical advice, it is not a diagnosis, and it is not a treatment plan. Maca is a dietary supplement ingredient, not a medicine. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before adding any supplement, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, take prescription medication, or have a thyroid, hormonal or cardiac condition.
Table of Contents
What maca is
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a root vegetable in the mustard family, grown high in the Peruvian Andes. LiverTox describes it as “a food and traditional herbal medicine derived from the roots of a perennial plant (Lepidium meyenii) cultivated at high altitudes in the Andes mountains,” notes that its principal components are carbohydrates and protein, and that it is “an excellent source of essential amino acids, iron and calcium.” The root is dried and milled to a powder; maca coffee is that powder stirred into brewed coffee, or blended with coffee before brewing.
Maca powder is generally described as earthy or nutty, and it does change the taste of the coffee. We have not tasted it, so the specific flavour descriptions the old version of this page gave — including a “subtle hint of butterscotch” — have been removed rather than repeated.
What the evidence actually supports
Very little, and the honest answer is that the research is thin rather than negative. The most-cited systematic review of randomised trials on maca and sexual function searched 17 databases and found four trials that qualified. Its conclusion, verbatim:
“The results of our systematic review provide limited evidence for the effectiveness of maca in improving sexual function. However, the total number of trials, the total sample size, and the average methodological quality of the primary studies were too limited to draw firm conclusions. More rigorous studies are warranted.”
— Shin et al., Maca (L. meyenii) for improving sexual function: a systematic review, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2010 (PMC2928177)
“Limited evidence, too limited to draw firm conclusions” is not the same as “a natural aphrodisiac,” which is what this page previously called it. LiverTox lists the same gap for every other benefit maca is sold on — memory and learning, mood, energy, stamina, sperm count — and says studies in humans “have had conflicting results.” Animal studies exist; they are not evidence of an effect in people.
Why the old claims were not just wrong, but the wrong kind of claim
Saying a supplement reduces the risk of heart disease or cancer, or treats depression, is a disease claim. The FDA is explicit that this is territory only drugs may enter: a supplement label carrying a structure/function claim must state that the product “is not intended to ‘diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease,’ because only a drug can legally make such a claim” (FDA, Label Claims for Conventional Foods and Dietary Supplements). The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements puts the same point to consumers: “Dietary supplements are products intended to supplement the diet. They are not medicines and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure diseases” (ODS, Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know).
Side effects and who should be careful
On maca itself, LiverTox reports: “Side effects of maca are uncommon and mild, and mostly include gastrointestinal symptoms and headaches,” and that “In small clinical trials, maca extracts have been reported to be safe, well tolerated and with only minor, transient adverse effects.” It assigns maca a likelihood score of E — unlikely cause of clinically apparent liver injury — while noting that as a supplement, maca “has had limited use.” Reassuring, but from a small evidence base.
- Pregnancy and nursing. ODS advises: “Be cautious about taking dietary supplements, beyond a standard prenatal supplement, if you are pregnant or nursing,” and adds that “Many supplements have not been well tested for safety in children and in women who are pregnant or nursing.” That covers maca.
- Children. Same ODS guidance: be careful about giving supplements to a child unless their health care provider recommends it.
- Thyroid conditions. The old version of this page stated that maca contains goitrogens that interfere with thyroid function. Maca is in the mustard family and LiverTox does record that it contains glucosinolates — but we could not find a human study showing that maca at supplement doses affects thyroid function. Treat this as a reason to ask your doctor, not as an established effect. We are flagging the difference rather than deleting the caution or dressing it up as fact.
- Hormone-sensitive conditions and hormone therapy. The same applies. This page previously asserted that maca “can potentially affect hormone levels.” That is an unproven mechanism, not a finding — and it is exactly the sort of uncertainty worth raising with the clinician managing your treatment.
- The coffee half. Maca coffee is still coffee. The FDA has cited “400 milligrams a day — that’s about two to three 12-fluid-ounce cups of coffee — as an amount not generally associated with negative effects” for most healthy adults (FDA). If coffee already upsets your stomach, adding a supplement whose most common side effect is gastrointestinal is not an obvious win — see why coffee makes some people nauseous.
How much, and how to make it
There is no established dose, because there is no established use. LiverTox records that “The recommended daily dose varies widely (500 to 3000 mg daily), depending on the preparation used (capsules, tablets, liquid, root extract) and indications” — that is a description of what products on the market suggest, not a recommendation, and this page is not making one. Follow the dose on the product you actually bought, and start at the low end of it.
Preparation is trivial: brew coffee as you normally would, stir in maca powder until it disperses, taste, adjust. It dissolves better in hot liquid and better still if you whisk or blend it. That is the whole method — the old version of this page stretched it across five numbered steps.
What this page will not tell you
It will not tell you that maca coffee is a pre-workout, an antidepressant, a fertility treatment, a blood-pressure drug or a cancer preventive, because nobody has shown that it is any of those things. It is a root vegetable powder with a long history of food use, a small and mixed clinical literature, and a mild side-effect profile. If you like the taste and it agrees with you, that is a sufficient reason to drink it. It is also the only reason this page can honestly give.
